Even as it awaits final approval of its pending Mediaroom acquisition from Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERIC) is getting some good news. TDS Telecom (NYSE: TDS) has said it's not only sticking with the IPTV platform but is updating it to give subscribers more features and control.
"We want TDS TV to complement our customers' lifestyle (and) this upgrade gives all of our customers more options and more control over their TV-watching experience," said Kari Gray, product manager for TDS Telecom in a press release.
Besides, the new features "make TDS TV even more intuitive and easy to use," she added.
Among those new features are a customizable local weather application; enhanced menus with new programming categories and shortcuts; multiple favorite lists for each set-top box; and "personal media capabilities" that let customers share photos and music on TVs via USB drives on the TV or personal computers.
"Our customers are looking for products that change and evolve according to their needs--TDS TV is one of them," Gray added. "We will continue to watch industry trends and look for opportunities to add new channels and features to enhance TDS TV."
TDS is currently available in parts of Tennessee, Georgia, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Mediaroom, still owned by Microsoft, is expected to become Ericsson property some time this year. When that happens, the Ericsson road map involves merging more wireless features into the IPTV platform as it blends the two technologies.
"There are some pretty huge transformative forces in the industry now that are compelling consumption of video over wireless," Vish Nandlall, Ericsson's head of strategy, marketing and CTO told FierceIPTV during a recent interview.
While Ericsson's heritage is wireless and the focus will naturally tend to drift in that direction, "that's not going to come at the expense of the wireline. I think this is more of a focus on multiscreen versus a focus on single screen. Wireless is the growth in terms of where the connected devices are and is probably the place where there's a larger opportunity," he added.
For more:
- see this press release
On the Hot Seat: Ericsson's Nandlall: Mediaroom acquisition positions us as a video space player
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